USSD vs VILLARIS

Part of the problem with some instructors today is that they are given/awarded Teaching Certificates automaticly with a rank promotion. A student should be given an evaluation or test to obtain a teaching certificate. The teaching certificate is in two parts,
1) an instructors certificate,
2) a rank examiners certificate.
Some instructors are very good at instructing but do not know how to properly evaluate students during a test.
Most stopped this practice and started awarding/givening out teaching certificates automaticly with rank. The reason being two fold,
1) the seniors didn't know themselves,
2) the belief that you automaticly knew everything with higher ranking.
The teaching certification should be done free of charge.
To ensure that you will have a continuing high quality system you must maintain a high quality, highly educated instructors staff.

First to Mr. Barnes,
My Master goes over the " BunKai" (hope thats how you spell it) So the person learning the forms do have a knowledge of what you are doing as in terms of our forms/katas.IE... 4 men are surrounding you, north, south, east and west, what attacks they are coming at you with, and what is going on in the forms to ultimately destroy the attackers.
Alot of schools don't do that and the student is left puzzled as to " WHY am I doing this form, its just dumb."
So that's why Iam especially always asking questions, like what if this block was a strike, and this foot movement were a sweep, etc...
I know i could be here all day going on and on, but i will not bore you to death.
By the way, your website is just awesome!!! I go there everyday!!!!
I clearly bow to you and say, " I am not worthy!!!"

To meirjen,
I do agree about with everything you have posted.
Good instructors are the ones who keep the student's THE LONGEST, not just oh MCDOJO into a program, 2 years for a black belt, etc...
At our school, it takes a minimum of 3 years and 6 months for black belt to 5 years.We also incorporate , in order for you to go to second degree, you must have at least 100 hours of BJJ/Jujitsu training practice.
Now alot of martial artists in SKK hate that, and say," Standup fighting so they cannot take you down"
Well, from my experience, it's good to have the insurance that you are well rounded.
Again, i go back to Jeff Speakman, Whether you love or hate the man, he does make a good point, " I do not want my art to just be kempo, but i want it to be kempo and evolve with our time.I can help by doing it now."
To me, that's a very wise person, with an open mind as well.
Other than that, I am behind you on your statement 100percent!!!

First to Mr. Barnes,
My Master goes over the " BunKai" (hope thats how you spell it) So the person learning the forms do have a knowledge of what you are doing as in terms of our forms/katas.IE... 4 men are surrounding you, north, south, east and west, what attacks they are coming at you with, and what is going on in the forms to ultimately destroy the attackers.
Alot of schools don't do that and the student is left puzzled as to " WHY am I doing this form, its just dumb."

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Yes, bunkai is the correct term. The kata series is 'technique based' so they should be easier, whereas the pinan series is 'principle based' so the 'multi-attacker' scenarios don't hold true. Do you guys use the 'One Kata' through 'Six Kata' series along with pinans and Statue of the Crane? My questions were poking at certain moves in the form that few students, and quite honestly few instructors were able to describe the utility of, and 'it's a guard' became the defacto answer.

So that's why Iam especially always asking questions, like what if this block was a strike, and this foot movement were a sweep, etc...
I know i could be here all day going on and on, but i will not bore you to death.
By the way, your website is just awesome!!! I go there everyday!!!!
I clearly bow to you and say, " I am not worthy!!!"

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Asking questions like that is important. Critical thinking is key. It will get you far. I constantly prod the students in my classes to question the information they get, especially from me. If they were to take everything I say as gospel, the best that they could hope for would be as good as me, and that would be sad.

Matt,
Sometimes, though, i do get a little " Bothered" by the forms themselves,
And what i mean is that, i constantly close my eyes and imagine in slow motion what i am doing/Could possibly be doing, and sometimes, my mind just gets fried!
Is it me , or do you still go through that mind-fry sometimes??
As for forms, yes, 1 thru 5 pinnan, 1 thru 6 kata, etc..
But with better bunkai then most schools.

First to Mr. Barnes,
My Master goes over the " BunKai" (hope thats how you spell it) So the person learning the forms do have a knowledge of what you are doing as in terms of our forms/katas.IE... 4 men are surrounding you, north, south, east and west, what attacks they are coming at you with, and what is going on in the forms to ultimately destroy the attackers.
Alot of schools don't do that and the student is left puzzled as to " WHY am I doing this form, its just dumb."
So that's why Iam especially always asking questions, like what if this block was a strike, and this foot movement were a sweep, etc...
I know i could be here all day going on and on, but i will not bore you to death.

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And how many of those moves actually translate into something practical that is then pressure tested and put into use in sparring? I've done countless hours of Bunkai in my day, and in hindsight I regret every moment when I could have been doing something more beneficial for my training like sleeping or watching funny videos on youtube.

To meirjen,
I do agree about with everything you have posted.
Good instructors are the ones who keep the student's THE LONGEST, not just oh MCDOJO into a program, 2 years for a black belt, etc...

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My old McDojo kept students on for many years. I tip my hat to their business model. Still wouldn't call them good instructors though.

At our school, it takes a minimum of 3 years and 6 months for black belt to 5 years.

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Took me 5.5 to get mine for the record.

We also incorporate , in order for you to go to second degree, you must have at least 100 hours of BJJ/Jujitsu training practice.
Now alot of martial artists in SKK hate that, and say," Standup fighting so they cannot take you down"
Well, from my experience, it's good to have the insurance that you are well rounded.
Again, i go back to Jeff Speakman, Whether you love or hate the man, he does make a good point, " I do not want my art to just be kempo, but i want it to be kempo and evolve with our time.I can help by doing it now."
To me, that's a very wise person, with an open mind as well.
Other than that, I am behind you on your statement 100percent!!!

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Good on ya for cross-training and filling in the gaps with your ground game. I only hope that at your school in particular the standup game receives proper and ample attention as well. I roll my eyes at the dozens of Ke?po schools who act like their only flaw is a lack of ground game.

took me bout even 5 years for mine.
My thinking and understanding of bunkai has enabled me to freely incorporate those techniques, from my forms,DM's, and Kempo's into my sparring.
As for my school, we stray away from " Point - Sparring"
and mainly practice " Kumite, anything goes" sparring, but with control!
No we do not "tap" our strikes, but we do smack a " Little" especially after green with brown.
nobody has ever gotten hurt, and hey, we all are having fun!

Although you may like that one, there are inaccuracies in it. For one, Charlie Mattera was a 7th degree when he left Fred Villari. He got his 8th from Professor Cerio and we already have a thread for the 9th degree discussion. Frederick J. Villari III on the list is not Fred Villari. Fred Villari is Frederick J. Villari Jr. So, just point out the inaccurate things on there.

My Shaolin Kempo Karate School teaches us BJJ and Counters to them, as well as MMA and " Practical" street situations, even during kumite sparring.
I went to USSD and yes, they do teach traditionally, but as you go up in ranks( about second degree on up, as a former instructor friend of mine has told us ) the work outs are alot more intense.
As far as " other " schools teaching just " Tradition" well, maybe that's all they just want to teach.
Jeff Speakman has his own kempo tapes called " Kempo 5.0"
And it looks interesting.
He says that you have to evolve and teach what is in your time and future, so your art doesn't die out.
I for one, must agree.
Anyways, check it out so you can see for yourself, and shoot me an email when ya get a chance!

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Your just a Master's slave. As for more intense never saw it.
How about you guff?

Not with USSD. I used to watch the 3rd dan workout when i was out of commission and the intensity wasn't any different.

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Each breakaway from Villaris it seems that the training just gets watered down
and less intense.
All the ussd masters now were 1st dans and brown and green belts when the split happened. So how good could they be to the original?

Each breakaway from Villaris it seems that the training just gets watered down
and less intense.
All the ussd masters now were 1st dans and brown and green belts when the split happened. So how good could they be to the original?

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I have no idea. I do know that when Armen left, he said that the first friday workouts were a waste of time and the meeting things made it all too corperate...martial arts shouldn't be corp. that's coming straight from him.

Each breakaway from Villaris it seems that the training just gets watered down
and less intense.
All the ussd masters now were 1st dans and brown and green belts when the split happened. So how good could they be to the original?

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Good point! USSD only has five or six 5th degree's in their whole system. Hey Gufball doesn't Villari have that many 5th's in Cailfornia alone? Its kind of pathetic that Mattera couldn't get any other high ranking Villari master to come with him. Damasco never got rank from Mattera either before or after he left Villaris. So whats that say about what Damsco thinks about Mattera's martial arts skills? Ok enough too be business partners with but I'll get rank from else where? If thats not a slap to the face I don't know what is?

Nat:
We are not associated with USSD anymore,.(since 2002!) my master trains with a 10th degree , and a 9th degree from the east coast.we have broken away and joined world martial arts, as our main , and at our school, it is more street realistic than USSD.
As for the instructor work outs, i only "heard" second hand about them.
As for myself, i really couldn't tell you.
Cheers!

i heard something on Demasco:
That he still talks with Fred Villari, on occasion, as he was granted the only person (instructor wise) to still communnicate with him, out of USSD.
I wonder if this is true.
Be funny if he was still receiving private lessons from Villari!!!

i heard something on Demasco:
That he still talks with Fred Villari, on occasion, as he was granted the only person (instructor wise) to still communnicate with him, out of USSD.
I wonder if this is true.
Be funny if he was still receiving private lessons from Villari!!!